Terrariums! Terrariums!

Oh my goodness, you guys: We did it. We DIY'd as a couple, and didn't kill each other. Actually, it was pretty cute. Sexy, too. 

Nah, not really sexy. But cute, yes.

Saturday was the perfect day for Terrarium making. I was so excited, I made a little song that went something like this: "TerrarIUM TerrARium ...God shed his grace on thee..."  The Boy really liked that.

First up, we hit Pinterest and researched our way through the collections of adorable "easy to make" terrarium tutorials for "inspiration." This is a good one. 

We'd been collecting vessels from Goodwill, but The Boy wasn't happy with those offering so we headed to infamous HomeGoods where the variety of reasonably-priced glass goods perfect for terrarium-making was epic. We selected two and rushed over to Lowe's. There, we consulted the experts on what plants to use. Basically, open terrariums (without a lid) are good habitats for drought-resistant plants, like succulents and cacti. For closed-top terrariums, stick with ferns and leafy plants that like moisture. We had one open hurricane vase and three closed jars so we chose a variety of wet and dry plants. 

Here's the materials you'll need:

-Glass vessels (you can use vases, mason jars, bowls, anything really)

-Plants

-Large and small stones

-Potting soil

-Dried moss

-A spoon, wire hanger, or other implements to help you dig/arrange

Then from there, it's pretty easy. 

Wait, let me restate that. The steps are easy, but doing them is not so easy. We fought with our little plants, trying to get them to look perfect. And we cursed the hipster bloggers that made it look so easy. But a little patience and work paid off spectacularly - and it was fun getting our hands dirty!

-Line the bottom of your vessel with large or small sized rocks. This provides drainage. Be generous - it helps the plant stay health and the rocks look nice from the outside. The Boy was very gentle with this step...look how tenderly he cradles his jar!

Layer on plenty of potting soil. The hipsters will tell you to use special charcoal soil, but the guy at Lowe's said that's just hogwash. 

Remember, you need enough soil to cover the root balls of your plants. 

Didn't know they had balls, did you? Learn something every day.

Start planting your babies! I used a spoon to be civilized but ended up mostly needing all five fingers in the dirt to get a good result. 

I played around with the arrangement, trying to get the perfect little zen garden...

After much digging, giggling, and plant mothering (come on baby, stand up cute for mama, you can do it, there you go!) we had success! Terrariums are go go go!!

Number 1: Desert terrarium (so great I almost wrote dessert!)

In fact, maybe I will call it Dessert - look how adorable that little cupcake of a cactus is! It's surrounded by some other friendly succulents and a few baby rocks. It's going to live on my coffee table and make me oh so happy!

Numbers 2 and 3: 

The Boy's didn't photograph so well, but it's really, really pretty. Look at those great layers of rock, soil, and moss. He's got a couple different leafy plants in there - a reddish-purple one and some variegated green ones.

My second was just a left over bit of the green leafy plant with some moss. So super easy!

Number 4: I made one little baby one with all the leftovers - some moss and a few sprigs of a succulent. Doesn't your voice just go up a few octaves when you look at it??

It's a wittle baby!

So there you go! This was a really fun project and both The Boy and I were equally pleased with the process and the results. He's taking his to the office, and I have one in the living room, one in the bedroom, and I think the baby's coming with me to work. In case you know me personally, you can expect to receive one of these babies for future gift giving occasions. They're easy to personalize and just so cool.

Have you made any terrariums? Braved DIYing as a couple? Discus!!